The pickleball dink fake is an advanced strategy you use to put away an unattackable dink shot.
In a dinking rally, mistakes are inevitable—hopefully made by your opponents. But when you recognize a chance to attack, even with an unattackable shot, it’s time to seize control.
1 – Put Away Shot
Point 1 in the illustration below shows a cross-court dink coming back as an attackable ball.
The dink is returned and is above net height and within reach.
You attack this bad dink and volley it down the line to an open spot. If there is no open spot, fire the put away shot down towards your opponent’s feet or to their backhand.
Beware, this will speed things up as you are going for a winner. If you hit directly at your opponent, be ready for a quick counter, especially against skilled players.
2 – Dink Fake
The second point in the illustration below shows a dink fake.
Turning the Unattackable into Opportunity
The beauty of a dink fake is that it often involves a ball that isn’t “attackable” in the traditional sense—it may be a little below net height. It may look like you will hit a soft dink return. But instead of dinking it back, you strike it up and over with controlled force directly at your opponent.
This move surprises them, potentially handcuffing them into a missed volley or causing them to pop it up for an easy put-away shot by you.
Your opponent doesn’t anticipate a hard return, and you catch them off guard as it looks like you will just dink it back. This can quickly shift the point in your favor.
Be ready though, skilled players have quick hands and will usually get their paddle on this and you may be in a fire fight at the net.
This is ok as you made an aggressive shot, and their response will be defensive and may popup for you to put away.
Summary
Mastering the dink fake and put away shots allows you to control the pace and keep opponents guessing.
These techniques become instinctive as you advance to the 3.5+ level, making your dinking game both versatile and unpredictable.
Check the video below to see a good dink rally. In the end, the rally ends with a speed up dink volleyed quickly. A kitchen rally ensues.
Dinking Rally Ending with a Kitchen Battle
John’s Brothers courtesy of Selkirk TV
See this Dink Rally on Youtube.